just came back from a day at the range and got to the reloading system and then as i was inspecting my brass i found about 20 or so that had cracks or even splits in the neck of the brass. i figure that it was over loaded rounds. i was loading these z max bullets and i think i loaded them at 32 grs. after a bit of searching on the net it seems it was a bit much but could there be any other reason that they would crack??
splits and cracked necks
- Thread starter japlume
- Start date
WOAH THERE! Stop loading ammo. Buy a manual and read it. Write down things when reloading, such as date, bullet and weight, powder charge, how many times your brass has been fired. You shouldn't "think you loaded them at 32 grains". You should know.
What calibre are you loading? What powder are you using?
What calibre are you loading? What powder are you using?
i was shooting a tika 22-250 the brass was fired 3 times. the bullets where z max 55grs the powder is h335 i weighed the charge out at 32.5 grs. i cant find any loading data any where on these bullets at all and then with the powder i have. i do have a speer and lyman manuals and have read them.
My best guess, too, although three reloads seems early. Could be you got a batch of brass that was more brittle than normal and the resizing you've done since has been enough to push them over the edge.
A cracked neck is not on the list of most common signs of overpressue. How were the primers, the primer pocket, the face of the casing?
Your load however does not seem excessive (keeping in mind of course that some rifles develop pressure problems sooner than others). The Hodgdon website calculator (http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp) shows the load for a 55gr bullet using H335 to be 30.5 gr to 33 gr.
BattleRife
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I lose most of my brass to stress-corrosion cracking of the necks. I really noticed it when I became a homeowner and started storing my ammo in the basement. Cases could be loaded several times without trouble during a single shooting season, but cases loaded in the fall and stored over winter would crack upon the first firing in the spring. Clearly, there was a time dependent cracking mechanism at work, so I started taking my cases in to the metallographic lab at work.
The first pic is characteristic of what I see when I look at cases with neck splits. There is a brittle fracture from the ID of the neck until about half way through the wall, then ductile tearing and necking through the remainder of the wall. I think that the process of resizing then the seating of a bullet results in a static tensile load on the neck that is high at the ID but lower (or even neutral or compressive) at the ID, and then exposure to the humidity levels in my basement results in SCC cracks that extend to the depth of the critical tensile stress. Upon firing, the pressure ruptures the case at the weak point.
The second photo shows some cracks that I found in a case that had not yet ruptured. The undeformed microstructure indicates these are not work hardening cracks. The cracks are intergranular and branched, and that means environmental cracking.
The first pic is characteristic of what I see when I look at cases with neck splits. There is a brittle fracture from the ID of the neck until about half way through the wall, then ductile tearing and necking through the remainder of the wall. I think that the process of resizing then the seating of a bullet results in a static tensile load on the neck that is high at the ID but lower (or even neutral or compressive) at the ID, and then exposure to the humidity levels in my basement results in SCC cracks that extend to the depth of the critical tensile stress. Upon firing, the pressure ruptures the case at the weak point.
The second photo shows some cracks that I found in a case that had not yet ruptured. The undeformed microstructure indicates these are not work hardening cracks. The cracks are intergranular and branched, and that means environmental cracking.
Not sure what brand you are using but I bought 2 boxes of new winchester factory 257 Roberts and of the 40 - 3 cases split at the neck after the first firing.... didn't even get a chance to reload!!!
Quality control must be way down over there.
Quality control must be way down over there.
Ya the brass is brittle, i have seen new factory fired stuff crack as well as some old 15 times reloaded. You may have a max. dia. neck and a min. dia. sizer as well that is causing the brass to be worked a bit more than normal, either way not a big problem you just need to anneal you brass or buy new brass.
